Manager - Strategy and Policy

Manager
- Strategy and Policy, School Transport
- Lead the review of School Transport Assistance policy and eligibility criteria
- Develop our operational policy and strategic advice to enable equitable outcomes and support a national education system that meets the needs of ākonga | learners in Aotearoa New Zealand
- Support our students who cannot or do not have access to public transport, and where distance, mobility or other issues create barriers to accessing an appropriate learning environment
- Permanent - Fulltime

Help shape the future of Education
He mea tārai e mātou te mātauranga kia rangatira ai, kia mana taurite ai ōna huanga
We work to shape an education system that delivers equitable and excellent outcomes
At Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga | Ministry of Education, we work to provide services and support nationally, regionally and locally to the education sector, and in some cases, directly to ākonga and whānau.
We help shape the policies, settings and performance of the education system for early learning, schooling and tertiary. We do this by building relationships and understanding the needs of those who receive our services.
We are making significant changes to how we deliver our mahi by:

- Taking practical action to give effect to te Tiriti o Waitangi.
- Giving priority to regional and local voice.
- Delivering greater responsiveness, accessibility and integrated services and support.
- Improving feedback loops and information flows.

Our organisation is made up of talented and committed people across Aotearoa from a wide range of backgrounds and cultures. While we work in different groups and on different things, we all strive every day to make the biggest difference we can for every child, young person and adult student in our education system.
About us
Te Puna Hanganga, Matihiko | Infrastructure & Digital - Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga | Ministry of Education, leads inclusive, accessible and integrated national, digital and physical infrastructure and transport services to the education system.
Within Te Puna Hanganga, Matihiko, School Transport is the second largest purchaser of passenger services in New Zealand (after Auckland Transport) and has been managing the transport of students to and from school for over 130 years.

**School Transport is responsible for**:

- spending over $200m each year on transport services
- overseeing delivery of around 7,000 daily vehicle movements with around 40m passenger journeys each year
- assisting over 100,000 students to school and home again safely every school day
- managing contracts with around 80 transport suppliers (including bus, total mobility, and ferry services)
- providing funding to around 400 schools/kura that organise transport assistance for their students
- offering Specialised School Transport Assistance to over 7,000 students with complex mobility needs
- paying conveyance allowances for around 5,000 students who cannot access School Transport services
- transporting 25,000 Year 7 and Year 8 students to offsite technical education facilities.

Our vision for school transport is that it removes barriers to accessing equitable and excellent outcomes for every child.
School Transport works collaboratively, has loads of laughs, reacts positively to the challenges and prides itself on innovative school transport solutions.
Mō tēnei tūranga | About this role
The Manager - Strategy and Policy will lead a team dedicated to providing specialist and expert operational policy advice and strategic direction to the group, ensuring alignment of internal operational policy decisions with long-term strategic objectives, broader Ministry policy and Government priorities.
The Strategy and Operational Policy Manager will also have overall responsibility for the development and delivery of ministerial advice and official correspondence relating to School Transport, and will provide leadership on business improvement, media and engagement for the School Transport group.
The position has responsibility for both BAU and portfolio work including leading the review of School Transport Assistance policy, directed by the Minister of Education.
Please note there is more information in the Job Description attached.
Mōhou ake | About you
You will have a breadth of operational policy expertise and a proven background in strategic planning and advice.

**To be successful in this role you will also need**:

- Experience leading successful teams, mentoring junior staff, managing priorities and delivering to deadlines
- Highly developed strategic and critical thinking skills and analytical capability
- A record of significant relationship building experience across a broad range of senior stakeholders in the public or private sectors while building and sustaining networks of internal and external contacts (including suppliers of services) to influence outcomes
- An understanding of the obligations flowing from the Treaty of Waitangi and an interest in i